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Bistro du Jour, the Wharf’s resident French eatery with picturesque waterfront views and a meticulously decorated interior, expands to another part of the city next month.
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Knead Hospitality + Design’s second Bistro du Jour helps activate the brand-new Royal Sonesta Washington, DC Capitol Hill, a 271-room hotel opening September 1 (20 Massachusetts Avenue NW).
At the nearly 2-year-old original, the catch-all neighborhood cafe offers everything from flaky pastries and fresh-squeezed juice in the morning to seafood-packed bouillabaisse, skirt steak frites, coq au vin, and Champagne pours at sunset. New dish drops include soufflé au fromage (Gruyere cream and truffle) and dover sole with grapes, vermouth chervil sauce, chanterelle, and button mushrooms.
Capitol Hill’s new 200-seat Bistro Du Jour will be nearly twice as large as the original. The sophomore edition also showcases the brand’s first full bar, a stylish lounge, and a 75-percent larger menu. Look for happy hour, breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. Valet parking will be available, too. The expansion comes on the heels of a major year for the cuisine in D.C., with a sea of fresh French restaurants continuing to show up all over town.
Bistro du Jour’s top-selling starters include gougères (warm cheese puffs) and macaron au foie, a salty-and-sweet compilation of chicken liver mousse and fig jam. Other Parisian favorites likely making their way to Capitol Hill include French onion soup, tuna Niçoise salad, a croque madame sandwich dripping with bechamel sauce and gooey gruyere, mussels swimming in white wine and garlic butter, and a double patty cheeseburger “L’Americain” with a special sauce.
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Booze includes French aperitifs and classic champagne cocktails like a Kir Royale with Creme De Cassis, French 75s, and an Elderflower Spritz made with St. Germain. A short list of bottled beers stars France’s beloved Kronenbourg.
Bistro du Jour Capitol Hill marks Knead’s 20th restaurant to date and the first of many openings in the group’s pipeline. Look for up to five new locations and brands to pop in the next year and at least two more in 2025.
The local hospitality group is also behind Mi Vida, which has three locations scattered across D.C., as well as the Grill, Gatsby, Succotash Prime, and Mi Casa.
